Memorial service for John, Keri and Alyssa Altobelli set for Monday at Angel Stadium
A public memorial service for the three members of the Altobelli family who died in the Jan. 26 helicopter crash that killed former Lakers star Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and four others will be held on Monday at 4 p.m. in Angel Stadium.
John Altobelli, 56, who spent the last 27 years as the baseball coach at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, died in the crash along with his wife, Keri, 46, and their 13-year-old daughter, Alyssa.
“Needless to say, there will be plenty of room,” Tony Altobelli, John’s younger brother and the sports information director at OCC, wrote on his Facebook page, “so if you’d like to be a part of this, we’d love to have you.”
Nine people, including Kobe Bryant, were killed when a helicopter crashed and burst into flames in Calabasas.
John Altobelli guided OCC to 705 wins and four state championships and spearheaded the $2.1-million fund-raising effort to upgrade the school’s baseball facility in 2016, a renovation that included a new artificial playing surface, scoreboard, sound system, batter’s eye and batting cages.
He was a popular and personable coach who built relationships across numerous campus departments, developed hundreds of players who went on to four-year colleges and three who went on to play in the major leagues. He helped countless teenagers mature into young men.
John Altobelli had grown close to Bryant through their daughters. Alyssa Altobelli and Gianna Bryant were teammates on the Mambas, the Newport Beach-based club basketball team that Kobe coached.
Those who watched Kobe Bryant coach his daughter’s youth basketball team the day before he died saw a man at peace and enjoying what he loved to do.
Kobe Bryant came to OCC to speak to Altobelli’s team in 2018 and periodically sent inspirational text messages to the team through the coach. The group was on their way to a basketball tournament in Thousand Oaks when their helicopter crashed into a Calabasas hillside.
John, Keri and Alyssa Altobelli are survived by John and Keri’s two other children, J.J., 29, a former University of Oregon shortstop who is a scout for the Boston Red Sox, and Alexis, 16, a high school junior in Newport Beach.
Lakers star LeBron James gives a one-word explanation on why he chose to have his team wear Gianna Bryant’s number in the NBA All-Star game.
The Orange Coast College Foundation has established an Altobelli family memorial fund. Donations can be mailed to the Orange Coast College Foundation at 2701 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa, CA, 92626 or made through the foundation’s website.
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